Industry, government and individual citizens have a need for improved energy resources which can meet the energy needs of the nation and yet are environmentally acceptable because they cause the emission of little or no pollution. One of the principal and most objectionable pollutants is sulphur.
The Clean Air Act of 1970 has stimulated research for cleaner fuels. Many experts believe that sulphur compounds released by the combustion of sulphur bearing fuels cause not only the direct effect of polluting air breathed by all citizens but also cause acetic precipitation which has a long range indirect effect on people by injuring or destroying vegetation and aquatic life.
While the United States has very substantial coal reserves, the problems with contaminants have caused restrictions upon the use of coal which in turn have caused economic hardship upon segments of the U.S. population. Therefore an inexpensive method for desulfurizing fossil fuels would increase available energy, improve the environment and the quality of life and be an economic stimulus.
Numerous methods for desulfurizing fossil fuels have been explored. These include physical separation techniques, chemical processes, and bacterial oxidation.
One of the problems with chemical processes is that they often use a variety of solvents, including quinoline, toluene, petroleum ether, and household bleach. They have met with some success under laboratory conditions. However, the difficulty is that chemical processes are not economically acceptable on an industrial scale because of their high cost and the by-product disposal problems which they create. In addition, existing apparatus for removal of pollutants, including sulphur, from fossil fuels is large and bulky, expensive and not easily moved from one location to another.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for the removal of pollutants, such as sulphur, from oil and coal which invention requires simpler, smaller, equipment and is less expensive than currently available apparatus and techniques. The apparatus of the present invention is capable of being installed in a typical field operation and in a limited space and can easily be moved from one location to another.